CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Harvard Women's Ice Hockey's captain Kate Kasica was selected as one of ECAC Hockey's 12 nominees for the 2026 Mandi Schwartz Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, as announced by the ECAC this week. 

One student-athlete from each of the league's 12 schools received a nomination for the distinction, which is given annually to an ECAC Hockey women's player in honor of former Yale University student-athlete Mandi Schwartz.

Kasica, a senior and captain of Harvard women's ice hockey, is a neurobiology concentrator from Minneapolis, Minnesota, an AHCA Scholar All-America Award recipient, and was part of the 2024-25 season's ECAC All-Academic team. A spiritual and emotional leader for the Crimson, Kasica has helped rebuild the culture on the fundamentals of belief, trust and putting the team above oneself. Kasica has led by example as well, switching positions this season to play forward after spending the first three seasons of her career on defense. The senior has taken on this new role with enthusiasm, becoming one of the team's best penalty killers and coming in clutch in special teams situations. 

This season, Kasica reached the 100 career games milestone and scored her first career goal against No. 5 Minnesota Duluth in the semifinal round of the 2026 Friendship Series in Belfast, Northern Ireland. One of the most memorable goals in recent history, Kasica scored short handed early in the contest to help power Harvard to the upset victory. 

The Mandi Schwartz Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to an ECAC Hockey female athlete in honor of the late Mandi Schwartz, a Yale women's ice hockey alum who passed away in April 2011 after her two-year battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. It is awarded to the student-athlete who most embodies Mandi Schwartz's excellence and leadership on the ice, in the classroom, and in the community. Nominees, who are selected by their school's administration and coaching staff, must have at least a cumulative GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale through the fall term/semester and must participate in a minimum of 50 percent of their team's games. The finalists for the award will be announced on Thursday, Feb. 12 with the winner being named the following week.